Phil Luciano: Could canning of unpopular fish become Carp o’ the Sea?’

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By Phil LucianoPeoria Journal Star

The State Journal-Register

By Phil LucianoPeoria Journal Star

Posted Jul. 31, 2014 at 9:30 PM
Updated Jul 31, 2014 at 10:03 PM

By Phil LucianoPeoria Journal Star

Posted Jul. 31, 2014 at 9:30 PM
Updated Jul 31, 2014 at 10:03 PM

BATH — When it comes to having family fun with Asian carp, don’t just kill ’em — can ’em!

That’s the message Clint Carter will bring to the ninth annual Original Redneck Fishing Tournament, set for this weekend in Bath, a Mason County town about 50 miles northwest of Springfield. To battle the nasty creatures, Carter’s newest weapon is a canning jar.

“We’ve got to do something with them,” he said.

Carter, 32, whose family has owned Carter’s Fish Market in Springfield for more than three decades, has appeared at carp events in and around central Illinois, preaching culinary solutions to fighting the invasive fish clogging the Illinois River. As usual, this Saturday in Bath he will teach anglers and others how to clean Asian carp, which are notoriously riddled with bones. Plus, he’ll give out samples of deep-fried nuggets, part of his mission to grace dining tables — here and beyond — with Asian carp.

“If they flop in your boat, you don’t have to just throw ’em out,” Carter said. “What I have to do is show people that, though these are the most disgusting fish in the world, you can fix them so you’ll want to eat them.”

He will be joined Saturday by renowned Louisiana chef Philippe Parola to serve up creative carp cuisine. However, Carter also says that Asian carp don’t need a gourmet touch to become edible; with very little work, their taste can be transformed into a twin of tuna.

“You can put it in with Tuna Helper or make it like tuna salad,” he said.

That’s where canning comes in. Though no canned carp sits on shelves at American grocery stores, carp aficionados long have home-canned buffalo fish and other varieties to store for colder months, Carter said. Though he knows of no one doing likewise with Asian carp, he says the species can be home-processed — and made delicious.

“River rats will do it,” Carter said with a chuckle. “People on the river are really resourceful. You can have a stockpile of carp till the end of the world.”

The recipe is simple: With a little vinegar and salt, can the carp like a vegetable or fruit.

“The vinegar helps dissolve the bones,” Carter said.

The process can take as little as 90 minutes. Carter admits the pale, mushy result isn’t pretty — “It doesn’t look good,” he said — yet is tasty nonetheless.

To prove his point Wednesday, he brought a couple of home-canned jars of Asian carp to Village Park in Bath (site of tournament festivities) for an impromptu event we dubbed “Carp in the Park.” At a picnic table, Carter set up a taste test for Betty DeFord, founder of the tournament, in which competitors vie to catch the most Asian carp, which then are disposed of as farm fertilizer. But DeFord, like Carter, long has hoped for a viable commercial harvesting of the critters. In fact, Peoria-area officials are exploring the feasibility of an Asian carp processing center.

Page 2 of 2 - Though Europeans and Asians gobble the fish, Americans do not. But maybe Carter is onto something with his canning method.

In a blind taste test, DeFord tasted two samples: one from a home-canned jar, the other from a can of Chicken of the Sea tuna. She declared each one “tuna-y.” But she deemed the second offering “less tuna-y” — and tastier.

The winner: the home-canned Asian carp.

Minutes later, I repeated the test. To me, both had a similar tuna flavor; I liked both and couldn’t tell the difference. Apparently, I don’t boast the delicate carp-discerning palate prevalent among Bath residents like DeFord.

Meantime, my tongue noticed no bones. Later, when Carter pointed out the Asian carp sample, I poked through and found some slight white slivers. However, to the bite, the bones were pretty much unnoticeable, just as with smelt and other soft-bone fish.

Can the canning approach go commercial? Carter said he has no knowledge of the canning industry. However, he noted that fresh tuna sells at market for $6 to $15 a pound, while Asian carp is $2 a pound. If those prices could be translated to grocery shelves, you could envision a future with cheap cans of Carp o’ the Sea or whatever.

When we were done with the testing, the results emboldened Carter to decide to offer taste tests to the public Saturday — at least, until he runs out of his limited supply of canned Asian carp. So, get your taste buds there early: Carter plans to rock your carp world.

When: Gates open at 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday, with activities and entertainment until midnight. Two-hour tournament heats are at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. today and Saturday. Prizes to be awarded at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. A free children’s fishing derby will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Details: Registration for each boat entry is $50. Admission to the food and entertainment tent is $3 each day or $5 for the weekend. Proceeds will go toward programs for homeless veterans at the Veterans Affairs Illiana Health Care System in Danville.